Dispenser preselector mechanism



p 1957 w. H. BURLEYSON DISPENSER PRESELECTOR MECHANISM.

Filed May 14, 1955 I INVENTOR YVJ-LBURLEYSON ATTORNEY DISPENSER PRESELECTOR MECHANISM William H. Burleysou, Concord, N. C. Application March 14, 1955, Serial No. 494,109

3 Claims. (Cl. 222-20) This invention relates to the dispensing and marketing of commodities and to machines and equipment therefor, particularly for the dispensing and marketing of commodities in a liquid state. i

This invention relates specifically to equipment for dispensing gasoline and similar products and to mechanism for automatically stopping the dispensing process after a preselected amount has been discharged, measured either in monetary terms or in gallons.

Heretofore, it has been found that customers for gasoline have frequently requested an amount of gasoline measured in terms of dollars and cents instead of in terms of gallons. Because of such requests the attendant of the dispensing equipment has been required to stand by the equipment and shut it off when the requested amount has been delivered. Therefore, a single attendant is restricted to the handling of only one customer at a time. An excessive number of employees have been required to handle the customers in large gas stations where many customers may arrive simultaneously tokeep them satisfied as obviously few people enjoy waiting. Gasoline stations having to employ a large number of attendants have high overhead costs and consequently, these costs are reflected in higher gasoline prices to the public.

It is an object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages above enumerated and to provide mechanism for automatically shutting off gasoline dispensing equipmentafter a preselected amount has been dispensed thereby allowing attendants toserve a plurality of customers 'at the same time.

It is a further object of this invention to provide equip ment for dispensing gasoline or similar products that will allow gasoline stations'using such equipment to operate at lower overhead costs and consequently, ofier gasoline to the public at cheaper prices. 7

A further object of this invention is to provide a preselector mechanism adapted for mounting on the majority of gasoline dispensing pumps in use at the present without substantial modification of such pumps.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will b apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein: a

Fig. 1 is a planview of a gasoline dispensing pump the present invention; n a

Fig. 2, a side plan view of a gasoline'dispensing nozzle of the present invention;

Fig. 3, a frontplan viewof thepreselector mechanism with the portions cut away;

- Fig. 4, a sectional view of the solenoid operating the dispensing nozzle Valve; 7 I

Fig. 5, an expanded front plan view of, the micro switch operating members; and

Fig. 6, a sectional view taken on the line 6--6 of Fig. 3.

Briefly stated, the invention comprises preselector mechanism formounting on a conventional gasoline dispensing pump havingmonetaryand gallon recorders operated by a flow meter. The preselector mechanism comprises a hand operated dial for operating a rack which carries a micro-switch electrically connected to a solenoid carried on the gasoline dispensing nozzle. This sole noid when operated disengages a valve actuating member thereby shutting oil the flow of gasoline. A further rack carrying a trip lever is operated through appropriate shafts and gears connected to the flow meter of the conventional gasoline pump and carries an actuating member for acting on the micro-switch. The dial is calibrated in dollars and cents and when rotated to preselected points sets the gasoline pump in condition for automatically shutting off the flow of gasoline after the preselected amount has been discharged.

With continued reference to the drawings a gasoline dispensing pump 10 is illustrated in Fig. l and h'as'conventional designating apparatus showing the amount in dollars and cents amount 11 and in volume 12.

-A recorder crank 13 is carried at one side of the pump and a bracket 14 for holding dispensing nozzle 15 is attached to the opposite side of the pump casing. The 'dispensing nozzle 15 is mounted at one end of a hose 16 connected at its opposite end to a pipe within pump 10 carrying the dispensed gasoline. The dispensing nozzle 15 is particularly illustrated in Fig. 2 and has a conventional guard 17 and valve actuating lever 18 connected at its forward end to the dispensing valve carried within the nozzle 15. In order to start the flow of gasoline from the nozzle 15 the gasoline pump operator grasps the nozzle at the top with his fingers extending through the guard 17 and closes his hand on the valve actuating lever 18 to open the gasoline dispensing valve. This structure is conventional in the majority of gasoline dispensing nozzles and pumps.

The dispensing nozzle 15 further has a pivoted ratchet member 19 pivotally mounted at its upper end to nozzle 15 within guard 17 in position for engagement with the free end of lever 18. Ratchet member 19 has teeth on one side adapted to engagethe outer end'of and hold lever 18in an open position when so engaged. The lower end of the ratchet 19 is pivotally connected to the lever 20 which in turn is pivotally mounted at its opposite end to nozzle 15. Each of said pivots may be sufficiently loosened to perm-it limited movement required for said ratchet member 19' for releasing said ratchet member 19 from said hold lever or handle 18. The lever 20 is further pivotally engaged intermediate its ends by a link 21 actuated by a solenoid 22 also mounted on the nozzle 15 as illustrated in Fig. 2. Ratchet 19 also may be a portion of the conventional apparatus for automatically stopping the flow of gasoline when'a customers gasoline tank is full. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the solenoid 22 is energized by current through wires 23 connected to the solenoid 22. The solenoid 22 has the conventional field c'oils 24 and an armature 25 movably located within the'field 24. The armature 25 is pivotally connected atone end to the link 21, with the opposite 'end of the armature 25 engaged by the coil spring 26 which moves the armature in the direction of the link 21 when the solenoid 22 is deenergized. l

An adjusting screw 27 is carried at one end of solenoid 22 for adjusting the tension of spring 26 in order that the solenoid 22 can operate ratch et 1 9. to release the valve actuating lever 18 and thereby shutoff the flow of gasoline through the nozzle 15.

It will be apparent that by energizing the solenoid 22 the link 21 will be pulled within the solenoid 22 thereby operating lever 20 to pull ratchet 19 out of engaging position with valve actuating lever 18 and thereby close link 21 for deflecting rain water from entering the solenoid 22 through the opening that the link 21 extends through. To further weatherproof the solenoid 22, a neoprene boot 22 is resiliently fitted over the neck of'the opening of the solenoid 22 through which the link 21' extends. This boot 22 closely fits around the link 21 thereby excluding moisture entering between the adjacent surfaces of the boot 22 and the link 21.

The preselector mechanism will now be described.

As shown in Fig. 1 the gasoline dispensing pump has a dial 28 mounted on its front casing and is preferably calibrated in dollars and cents although it could be calibrated in gallons if desired. Dial 28 is operated by hand-knob 29 carried on its face. Dial 28 is operatively connected through a shaft to preselector gear 30 engaging preselector rack 31 slidably mounted on trackway 32 as shown in Fig. 6. Trackway 32 is mounted on frame elements by conventional fastening means such as bolts 33 shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 3 further illustrates a recorder gear 34 connected through shaft 35 to the recording apparatus operating designators 11 and 12 of Fig. 1. Recorder gear 34 operates recorder rack 36 mounted on trackway 37 connected to the frame structure by bolts 33 in a manner similar to trackway 32.

As illustrated in Fig. 5 a micro-switch 38 is rigidly mounted at the lower end of preselector rack 31. The micro-switch 38 is used for momentarily closing a circuit. Switch 38 carries actuator 39 which is normally in an outward position but when pressed inwardly closes the circuit between wires 23 and 40 shown in Fig. 5. When actuator 39 is released it returns to an outward position and the circuit between wires 23 and 40 is again open. open. Preselector rack 31 further carries an L-shaped bar 41 with one leg of the bar rigidly mounted at the lower end of the preselector rack 31. The opposite leg of L-shaped bar 41 carries a pivoted trigger 42 adapted to operate actuator 39 of micro-switch 38. Springs 43 are placed between the trigger 42 and L-shaped arm 41 to keep the trigger 42 in a substantially stable position during heavy vibration of the equipment.

A strap '44 is rigidly mounted by screws of their equivalent at the lower end of a recorder rack 36 and such strap 34 carries a pivoted trip lever 45 at its outer end. Also abutment means 46 is mounted at the lower end of recorder rack 36 to hold trip lever 45 at one side. The opposite end of trip lever 45 is provided with a weight 47 so that gravity may hold the trip lever against the abutment 46. A spring 48 is also positioned between the trip lever 45 and the strap 44 to keep the trip lever in a relatively stable position during vibration.

It can be understood that the recorder rack 36 carrying the trip lever 45 moving downwardly will operate trigger 42 to move actuator 39 of the micro-switch 38 inwardly and thereby energize the circuit between conductors 40 and 23.

As illustrated in Fig. 4, one of the wires 23 is connected to one side of the micro-switch 38, and the other wire 23 is connected to one side of a source of electrical energy. The other side of the source of electrical energy is connected through the conductor 40 to the microswitch 38. From this it can be seen that when microswitch 38 closes the circuit between wire 40 and wire 23 the solenoid 22 will be energized and thereby pull the link 21 operating the ratchet 19 and releasing the valve operating lever 18.

The operation of the gasoline dispensing equipment using the preselector mechanism of the present invention will now be described.

When the gasoline pump attendant receives a request for a certain amount of gasoline measured in dollars and cents as, for example, three dollars, he will grasp the knob 29 and rotate the dial 28 counterclockwise until the three dollar mark is aligned with the pointer illustrated in Fig. 1 thereby moving rack 31 downwardly to a selected position. The pump is then in readiness to deliver a predetermined amount of gasoline. The attendant will then remove nozzle 15 from bracket 14, insert it in the customers gas tank opening, and operate lever 18 engaging it with ratchet 19 to initiate the flow of gasoline. The attendant may then either wait on other customers or perform other operations such as wiping windows, checking oil, water, etc. In the meantime the flow meter in the gasoline pump will operate recorder gear 34 thereby moving the recorder rack 36 downwardly parallel to preselector rack 31. When the flow meter has measured three dollars worth of gasoline the trip lever 45 will be in position and will engage trigger 42 which in turn will engage actuator 39 of the micro-switch 38 thereby closing the circuit between the conductor 40 and wire 23 and energizing solenoid 22 which in turn will actuate ratchet 19 to disengage the valve operating lever 18. The flow of gasoline through nozzle 15 will be stopped and the attendant may return and remove nozzle 15 from the customers gas tank.

If it is not desired that the preselector mechanism operate during the dispensing process the dial 28 may be removed to align the zero figure on the dial with the pointer thereby shifting the switch 38 to an elevation where the recorder rack 36 is free to move up and down without actuating the micro-switch 38. In this manner the valve actuating lever either may be operated manually or by the conventional apparatus for automatically shutting off the flow of gas after a tank has been filled with gasoline.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a gasoline dispensing pump having a flow meter and a hose terminating in a nozzle having a manually operated valve therein, a preselector mechanism comprising a rotary dial calibrated in monetary designations operatively connected to a preselector rack carrying a micro-switch, a second rack mounted parallel to said preselector-rack, a trip means carried by said second rack, a gear operatively connected with the flow meter of the gasoline pump and driving said second rack, a ratchet mounted on said nozzle and engageable with the manually operated valve to hold said valve in opened condition, a solenoid connected to said ratchet for moving said ratchet out of valve retaining position to permit said valve to close, said micro-switch being connected to a current source forenergizing said solenoid, leads connecting said solenoid and said microswitch, said microswitch normally being in an open position, said trip means operating said micro-switch to close the solenoid energizing circuit to disengage the valve operating member thereby stopping the flow of gas through the gasoline dispensing nozzle after a preselected amount has been discharged.

2. For use in a dispensing pump having a flow meter and a delivery hose and a manually operable valve nozzle having a control lever for opening said valve, a preselector mechanism for use with the dispensing pump comprising a frame structure, a pair of rack gears slidably mounted on said frame structure for movement in substantially parallel paths, means to connect one of said racks to the drive for said flow meter, said one rack having a detent pivoted to one end thereof, which detent is yieldably urged to operative position, a stop to limit the movement of said detent in said operative position while permitting said detent to yieldably move away from said stop, an L-shaped bracket mounted on an end of said second rack corresponding to said one end of said first rack, a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said L-shaped bracket and having one portion movable on the path of said detent on said first rack, a microswitch mounted on said corresponding end of said second rack, means on said microswitch for engagement with another portion of said lever whereby said lever will operate said microswitch when said detent engages said one end of said lever, a preselector dial and gear pivotally mounted on said frame and operatively connected to said second rack for moving said second rack in both directions', and means to move said second rack so that the lever therein is entirely out of the path of said detent, a latch for attachment to the nozzle for cooperation with said manually operated control lever, a solenoid connected to said latch for moving said latch out of the path of said handle for permitting the valve in said nozzle to stop the flow of fluid, and power means connected to said solenoid and to said microswitch for releasing said latch to release the handle of said nozzle valve and permit the valve to close the flow of fluid therefrom.

3. A preselector mechanism adapted to mount on a gasoline dispensing pump having a flow meter and a hose terminating in a nozzle with a manually operated valve therein and comprising a rotary dial calibrated in monetary designations and operatively connected to a preselector rack carrying a micro-switch, a gear adapted to be operatively connected with the flow mechanism of the gasoline pump and driving a second rack which moves parallel to said preselector rack and carries trip means for engagement with said micro-switch, a solenoid means adapted to engage the valve operating member to hold the valve in open position when said solenoid is not energized, said micro-switch being connected between a current source for energizing said solenoid, said microswitch normally being in an open position, said trip member operating said micro-switch to close the solenoid energizing circuit to disengage said valve operating member thereby stopping the flow of gas through the gasoline dispensing nozzle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,998,221 Conklin Apr. 16, 1935 2,059,210 Devers Nov. 3, 1936 2,084,317 Brayer June 22, 1937 

